Island



H. L. SMITH.

4 SheetsShe et 2.

GAPSTAN.

I (No Model.)

No. 572,457. Patented Dec. 1, 1896.

WITNESSES:

- ATTORNEYS.

(No Model.) 4 Sheats-Sheet 3, H.. L. SMITH.

, GAPSTAN. No. 572,457, Patented De.o'. -1, 1896.

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(No Model.) 4 sheets -sheei; 4.

H. L. SMITH. GAPSTAN No. 572,457. Patented Dec. 1, 1896.

' WITNESSES ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY L. SMITH, OF SEEKONK, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERI- CANSHIP IVINDLASS COMPANY, OFPROVIDENOE, RHODE ISLAND.

CAPSTAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 572,457 dated December1, 1896.

Application filed June 3, 1896- Serial No, 594,141. (No model.) i

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY L. SMITH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Seekonk, in the county of Bristol and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCapstans; and I do hereby declare thefollowin g to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it ap 1o pertains to make and use the same.

This invention has reference to an im provement in capstans arranged tobe driven by cranks and gears at variable speeds and in either of twodirections of rotation at the will of the men operating the cranks, andit is more especially designed as an improvement in capstans of theclass described in Letters Patent of the United States No. 281,949, andgranted September 7, 1880, to Frank Allen and Frank A. Grater, to whichreference is made. In the capstan described in said Letters Patent No.231,949 provision is made forrotating the capstan-barrel at rapid speedfor the purpose of hauling in the slack of the anchor-chain when theanchor is to be raised, and provision is also made for increasing thepower, through compound gearing, applied to the capstan-barrel for thepurpose of exerting greater strain or pull on the anchor- 0 chain whenthe anchor itself is reached and is to be drawn from the earth. Thiscapstan (Patent No. 281,949) could be operated at will through single ordouble gearing by reversing the direction of rotation of the cranks, the3 5 barrel always revolving in the same direction, but it was notpossible to turn the barrel by the cranks in the reverse direction. Itis sometimes desirable to have the capstan so arranged that the barrelcan be driven in 0 either direction at either speed, and it is toaccomplish this object that I have invented the form of capstan which Inow desire to secure by Letters Patent.

Reference being had to Patent No. 231,949, hereinbefore referred to, itwill be seen that thecapstan was provided with four ratchetpawls workingin pairs and holding in one direction. In a modified form I have usedthese four pawls in a substantially similar way, but I have added fourmore pawls of half being shown in section.

modified form, making eight in all, the four new pawls being exactlylike the others, but

of the reverse hand, so as to hold in the opposite direction. It isevident that the same number of pawls as before must be inaction at onceand the other set must be thrown up out of contact with the pockets. Todo this,

I employ a novel form of pawl-tripper, hereinafter described. It is alsoevident that the pockets of the capstan (Patent No. 231,949) can be usedonly in one direction, and there must be provided either an extra andreverse set of pockets or else the form of the original pockets must bemodified.

I do not restrict my claim to any particular number or shape of pawls orpockets,but the form in which I prefer to construct my capstan and whichI consider to be the best for practical use is that which I will nowproceed to explain, reference being had to the accom- 7opanyingdra-wings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation showing thecapstan, one half being in vertical section. Fig. i 2 is a plan view ofthe upper end of the bar-M rel and the compound gear placed within the 75 barrel, showing the pockets in the barrel in which the pawls in thedriving-disk engage, so as to drive the barrel directly, and also thepockets in the central driving-pinion by which the capstan is drivenwith increased power. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the plane y y ofFig. 4, showing the pawls, also section of the pockets in top ofcapstan-barrel. Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan View of the driving-disk,showing the pawls and also showing the pawl-tripper in dotted outline.Fig. 5 is an elevation of the devices shown by Fig. 4, one Fig. 6 is aside elevation of one of the pawls. Fig. 7 is a plan elevation of one ofthe pawls. Fig. 8 is a front elevation of one of the pawls. Fig. 9 is afront elevation, half in vertical section, showing a modified capstanprovidedwith a wildcat or chain wheel. Fig. 10 is a plan view of same,

showing a method of taking in chain, using 5 rolls to guide the chain,so as to give the required contact with the lugs of the wildcat.

Like letters of reference denote correspondin g parts in all the figuresof the drawings.

Adesignates the base of the capstan, which I00 is firmly secured to thedeck by bolts. Said base A has a central sleeve a, through which passesthe shaft or spindle B, which is stationary. On this spindle B is fittedthe barrel O, which is provided with two bearings surrounding thespindle, the barrel-bearings being indicated at c 0 This barrel 0 isfree to revolve on the spindle in either direction, but it is providedwith pawls O, which may be changed to hold the barrel from turning inthe reverse direction from that in which it is desired to turn thebarrel.

To the upper end of the stationary spindle B is fixed a capstan-head D,provided with bearings 01 d for the reception of the crankshaft E, theends of which shaft are suitably formed for the attachment of the crankse e. ()n this crank-shaft E is keyed or otherwise fastened the beveledpinion e, the teeth of which mesh with the teeth of a large bevelgear f,provided on the horizontal rotatable plate or disk F, which is fittedloosely on the spindle B and is designed to be driven by the motionimparted to the gear f by the pinion e and crank-shaft E. This rotatabledisk or plate F is equipped with four pairs of gravitypawls, which areloosely fitted in pockets f provided in said plate or disk, and thesepawls are arranged so that the disk maybe connected either directly withthe capstan-barrel to turn it at a high or low speed by reversin g thedirection of the cranks, either to the right or left, according to theadjustment of the paWl-tripper.

M M designate one pair of pawls fitted in the plate or disk F, near theends thereof, and arranged to engage with pockets K in the upper edge ofthe capstan-barrel when the plate or disk F is to be connected directlyto.

said capstan-barrel for the purpose of turning the latter in the samedirection with said plate or disk and at the same speed.

0 O is another pair of pawls, but of reverse hand to the pawls M M, andthese pawls O O are fitted in pockets in said disk or plate F to alsoengage with the pocket-s K in the upper edge of the capstan-barrel 0when said barrel is to be rotated in the reverse direction, the pawls O0 being arranged to connect the barrel 0 and disk or plate together toinsure the barrel turning with the plate or disk. Obviously the set ofpawls O 0 must be out of action and out of engagement with thecapstan-barrel when the pawls M M are in engagement with said barrel,and vice versa,

and this is effected by constructing the pawls,

beyond the capstan-barrel and having a suitable loop (1 for sliding thepawl-tripper within the limit of the length of the slots q.

The pawls O O are fitted in the plate or disk F adjacent to the pawls MM, respectively, as shown by Fig. 4', and the heels of the pawls O O arebeveled in the reverse direction to the heels of the pawls M M in orderthat when the pawl-tripper is adjusted to one position the pawls O 0will be lifted and held in a raised position free from the pockets inthe capstan-barrel while the pawls M M are lowered into position toengage with said pockets in the capstan-barrel, but when thepawl-tripper is changed to its reverse position, as by moving itendwise, the pawls M M will be raised and held free from the pockets inthe capstan-barrel.

The faces or noses of all the pawls are beveled, as indicated at L inFig. 8, to allow the pawls to ride out of the pockets when the drivingdisk or plate F is revolved in the opposite direction from the directionin which it is desired the pawl. shall drive. Thus the pawls O 0" havebeveled noses or faces L, which are of 7 reverse hand to the bevelednoses or faces L of the pawls M M, and the set of pawls lWI M arearranged to drive the capstan-barrel O to the right when the disk orplate F is turned to the right, but the pawls O O are arranged to engagewith the barrel C and drive it to the left when the driving disk orplate F is rotated by the cranks, because the pawls O Oonly engage withthe pockets in the barrel 0 to hold and drive it in the contrarydirection to the pawls M M. Said driving disk or plate F is providedwith two other pairs of pawls N N and P P, constructed and arrangedsimilarly to the pawls M M and O 0, but the pawls N N and P P arearranged nearer the center of the driving disk or plate. The pawls N Nhave beveled noses or faces and beveled heels R, corresponding to theinclination of the faces and heels on the pawls M M, while the pawls P Phave beveled faces L and beveled heel-s R corresponding to the bevels onthe pawls O O.

The pawls N N and P P are adapted to engage,according to the adjustmentof the pawltripper Q, with pockets K in the head g of the pinion g,which is fitted loosely on the fixed spindle l3, and this pinion gmeshes with the gear wheels g g, which are mounted loosely on fixed pinsor arbors g, fastened to a cross-bar 9 which is fixed to the spindle B,said gear-wheels g g meshing with a circular rack g on the inside of thecapstan-barrel. The loose pinion g and gears g 9 constitute the compoundgear by which the capstan-barrel may be driven at slow speed, but withincreased power, on a reversal of the cranks.

The pawl-tripper Q has projections or lugs S S S S corresponding innumber to the pairs of pawls M M, O O, N N, and P P, and each projectionor lug is adapted to engage with two adjaoent pawls. Thus the lug IIO Sengages with the reversely-slanting heels on the pawls M O, theprojection S with the reversely-slanting heels on pawls P N, theprojection S with the reverse heels-of pawls N P, and projection S withpawls M O.

The heels R of the four pairs of pawls are so inclined or slanted thatwhen the pawltripper Q is in the position shown by Figs. 4 and 5 theprojections on said pawl-tripper operate to lift the pawls O O and P Pout of contact with the pockets in the capstan-barrel G and the pocketsin the central loose pinion g while the pawls M M and N N are in workingposition. If the cranks are turned to rotate the disk F to the right,the pawls M M operate to turn the capstan-barrel at the same speed andin the same direction with the disk, the pawls N N slipping idly overthe walls of the pockets in the head of the loose pinion g; but if thecranks are reversed to turn the disk F in the reverse direction thepawls M M slip idly over the pockets in the capstan-barrel, while thepawls N N engage with the pockets K in the loose pinion 0, thus makingsaid pinion g fast with the disk F and rotating the pinion g to drivethe gears g, which in turn drive the capstan-barrel in the samedirection, but at slower speed and with increased power, as when thepawls M M were in action.

If the pawl-tripper Q be shifted so that the projections are in theopposite sides of the pockets in the driving plate or disk F, thepositions of the pawls will be reversed, that is, the pawls M M and N Nwill be thrown out of action and the pawls O Oand P Pwill be broughtinto action. Now when the cranks are turned to drive the disk or plate Fto the left the pawls O O engage with the pockets in the capstan-barrelC, and thus drive the barrel in the same direction and at the same speedas the driving-disk, but if the direction of the cranks is reversed thepawls P P engage with the pinion g to drive the gears g g and rotate thebarrel 0 in the same direction as it was driven by the pawls O O. Itwill thus be seen that by proper adjustment of the slidable pawl-tripperthe capstan-barrel may be turned in either direction and that it may bedriven at fast or slow speed by reversing the direction of the cranks.

In Figs. 9 and I0 I have shown one adaptation of the windlass in whichit is important that the capstan-barrel may be rotated in eitherdirection and at variable speeds for the purpose of quickly taking inslack cable or chain by rapid rotation of said capstanbarrel and forhauling the anchor out of the earth at a slow speed, but with increasedpower. 7

When this capstan is used in the combination with a wildcat, it isimportant that it should be capable of turning in both directions, foras Will be seen in the accompanying drawings, Fig. 10, if the wildcat Hturned only in the direction indicated by the arrow it would benecessary to lift the starboard chain, I over the windlass each time thestarboard anchor was hoisted. In the arrangement here shown it is onlynecessary to remove the rolls 1 I, which allows the port chain J to leadin a straight line from the deck-pipeE to the bow of the boat, and isthus cleared from the windlass. Now the rolls 1 I may be placed inthesockets 'i 1;, and the starboard chain I placed in the same relativeposition as the port chain J here shown. Thenby reversing the directionof the wildcat through the capstan-barrel O and the driving-gears, ashas been explained, the starboard anchor may be raised. The wildcat H,as shown in Fig. 9, may be driven directly from the capstan O by theblock-key H or by any other suitable method. The wildcat H hasretaining-pawls J J, which may be turned over so as to hold in theopposite direction when the direction of the wildcat is reversed.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a crank-capstan, substantiallysuch as herein described, thecombination with a crank-operated driving-shaft,a rotatable driving diskor plate geared with said shaft, a capstan-barrel, and a compound gear,of two independent sets of pawls all carried by said rotatable drivingdisk or plate and adapted to engage with said capstan-barrel or with thecompound gear, and a single pawl-tripper also carried by the rotatabledriving disk or plate in operative relation to all of the pawls andadapted to throw one set of pawls into engagement with the barrel or theother set of pawls into operative relation to the compound gear, wherebythe single pawl-tripper may.

control the pawls and cause the capstan-barrel to be rotated in eitherdirection and at variable speeds from the driving-shaft, as set forth.

2. In a crank-capstan,the combination with a capstan-barrel, of adriving mechanism substantially such as specified, embracing a compoundgear, two sets of pawls of reverse hand, and a single pawl-trippercarried by the driving mechanism and arranged at all times in operativerelation to the two sets of pawls, said pawl-tripper engaging normallywith one set of pawls to hold the same out of action and free from theother set of pawls to adapt the latter or free set of pawls to en gagewith said capstan-barrel and compound gear, whereby the capstan-barrelmay be r0- tated in either direction by adjustment of the pawl-tripperand at either fast or slow speed by reversal of the crank-shaft of thedriving mechanism, as set forth.

3. In a crank-capstan, substantially such as described, the combinationwith a crank-operated driving-shaft, and a rotatable driving disk orplate geared thereto, of a capstanbarrel having a plurality ofpawl-pockets, two independent sets of pawls of reverse hands all carriedby said rotatable disk or plate and IIO two pairs of which pawls arearranged to engage alternately with said capstan-barrel, a compound gearengaging with said capstanbarrel and arranged in such relation to thedriving disk or plate as to enable two other pairs of pawls to engagealternately with said compound gear, and a single slidable pawltrippercarried by said rotatable driving plate or disk in operative relation atall times to the whole series of pawls and adapted to permit two pairsof pawls to engage with the capstan-barrel or with the compound gear,for purposes described, substantially as set forth.

4:. In a crank-capstan,tl1e combination with a driving-shaft, acapstan-barrel, a compound gear, and a rotatable driving disk or plate,of two sets of pawls of reverse hand carried by said driving disk orplate in position to engage with said capstan-barrel and with one memberof the compound gear, and a slidable tripper-plate carried by saiddriving-disk in operative relation to all the pawls and adapted to holdone set of pawls out of action while allowing the other sets of pawls toengage with the barrel and compound gear, each pawl having a beveledface and a beveled heel or lug to ride upon a projection on thepawl-tripper plate, as and for the purposes described.

5. In a crankcapstan,the combination with a driving-shaft, a barrel, anda compound gear, of a rotatable driving disk or plate between saiddriving-shaft and compound gear, and provided with a plurality ofpawl-pockets two sets of vertically-slidable pawls of reverse hand whichare fittedin the pockets of driving plate or disk and either set ofpawls adapted to have its members engage with said barrel or thecompound gear according to the direction of rotation of thedriving-shaft, and a slidable pawl-tripper attached to said drivingplate or disk and having means to engage with either set of pawls tothrow them out of operative relation to the barrel and compound gear andleave the other set of pawls free to engage with said barrel andcompound gear, as set forth.

6. In a crankcapstan, the combination with a driving-shaft, a barrel,and a compound gear, of a driving plate or disk, a set of pawls of onehand carried by said driving plate or disk, as O, O, P, P, another setof pawls of reverse hand, as M, M, N, N, also carried by said drivingplate or disk, and a pawl-tripper slidably attached to the driving diskor plate and engaging with either set of pawls to throw them out ofoperative relation to the barrel and compound gear, as and for thepurposes described.

7. In a crank-capstan, the driving plate or disk having a number ofpawl-pockets, the two sets of pawls of reverse hand slidably fitted inthe pockets of said disk or plate and each pawl having a beveled heel,and a pawltripper attached to said driving disk or plate and having twosets of cam-lugs corresponding in number to the pawls of the two sets,each set of cam-lugs arranged to ride against the beveled heels of itscorresponding set of pawls to raise them when the pawl-tripper is in oneposition and to lower said pawls when the tripper is reversed, incombination with a capstan-barrel, a driving-shaft geared to the plateor disk, and a compound gear, the whole arranged and combined forservice as and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY L. SMITH.

Vitnesses:

GILMAN E. J OPP, CHAS. T. PRATT.

